Page 26 - 20230530_vp_02_D

vascular professional | issue 02 · 2022
vascular professional | issue 02 · 2022
vascular professional | issue 01 · 2021

We will work out even better how congresses need to new participants from all over the world who would never
be designed to offer both, face-to-face and online parti- have attended our congresses before. We had a similar
cipants, an attractive congress experience. Our industry experience when it came to attract speakers. By adding
partners ‒ whose focus will understandably remain on lectures digitally without any problems, it was now much
face-to-face meetings on site ‒ will also have to establish easier to attract renowned experts from around the globe
complementary communication channels in the online as speakers. Adding speakers to face-to-face events on-
world. But we are only at the beginning here. One exam- line is a clear added value and will certainly be an accepted
ple: As the learning curve for hybrid events increases, we option in the future.
will, for example, ensure that content and new formats
are also made available before and after the actual con- What does the vascular medicine fair/congress/
gress date. We have already successfully implemented conference of the future look like to you?
initial concepts with „pre- and post-congress elements“, I personally believe that face-to-face events will come
i.e., formats that were mostly implemented live or on-de- back more strongly than some people suspect. Even con-
mand online before or after the actual congress. gresses and conferences are not just about the simple
sharing of information and knowledge. Like other event
As an agency that also plans and implements inter- formats, congresses are highly emotionally driven, and
national events, what differences did you notice the participants want to meet each other in real life.
with events in the German-speaking world in compa- I also believe that this is the only way successful medical-
rison to the international world? scientific congresses work ‒ through direct contact and
While we were still able to hold individual events in Ger- real interaction. We as a Professional Congress Organizer
many in presence or hybrid, almost all international (PCO) see our task as continuing to create an attractive
events had to be canceled in the last 1.5 years. Thus, for framework in the form of face-to-face congresses sup-
events with international participation, we focused on di- plemented by useful digital elements, so that physicians
gital-only implementation. The fascinating thing was that and scientists can share information and knowledge and
by holding them purely digitally, we were able to reach meet in person.

DANIEL M. METZLER

CEO Wiesbaden, which he has headed as sole managing
wikonect GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany director since the beginning. With his team of around
35 employees, he designs and organizes national and
Born in Bonn, Daniel M. Metzler decided early to follow international medical congresses with up to 5,000
the path into the trade fair and congress business. He participants.
studied business administration at the Duale Hoch-
schule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW) Ravensburg
(Dual University Baden-Württemberg, Ravensburg,
Germany) in the field of „trade fair, congress and event
management“ and completed his practical training at
one of the major congress centers in Germany. After
his studies, he worked as a Project Manager for clients
from a wide range of industries at an established Pro-
fessional Congress Organizer (PCO) and then focused
primarily on providing support and consulting services
to professional societies, institutions and companies
in the healthcare sector. In 2008, together with part-
ners, he founded the congress agency wikonect in © Daniel M. Metzler

24